All these stories of often unfounded romances only fuel the aura of the Zairian who , whatever one says , seduces with her physical attractiveness and her good humor . In 1986 , when the Senegal football team of the super-gifted generation of Thierno Youm and Jules Bocandé was playing the African Cup of Nations in Egypt , the press people , in Cairo invented an idyll between her and the star striker of the lions of Teranga Jules Bocandé ; with whom she would have been seen in a nightclub on the eve of a capital match of the Senegal team against the Ivory Coast of Abdoulaye Traore and Youssouf Fofana . The 1 goal to zero defeat against the Elephants of Cote d ' Ivoire eliminated Senegal which , however , had made a flawless run until then , beating Egypt at home before dominating Zimbabwe . This story will have a Repercussion throughout Africa and will be told in all the cottages . Years later Amadou Diop captain at the time says it was rather the Senegalese player Antoine Coly who member of Club de Brugge in Belgium had not been retained in the typical team playing the African Cup of Nations in 1986 but had traveled to Cairo as a tourist , and was in a club that evening , not with Tshala Muana but with a certain Chantale , a top model of Gabonese origin who was also visiting Egypt for the African Cup of Nations . The error probably came from the fact that he also wore a Rasta hairstyle like Jules Bocandé . Anyway , the reputation of heartbreaker of the beautiful Zairian could only grow after these gossips . “ The artistic blossoming of Tshala Muana really begins in Ivory Coast , where , more a dancer than a singer , she became better known than in the Congo , confirmed Ossinonde on the pages of Jeune Afrique . Watching her dance was a delight . She , for her part , only dreamed of following in the footsteps of her elders from the Kasai provinces , such as Tino Baroza and Charles Déchaud Mwamba . The key to her success ? The opening of a new niche . Starting from the Congolese rumba , Tshala Muana knew how to enrich it , to densify it by adding the traditional-modern touch of Luba folklore ( people of the Kasaï provinces ), the Mutuashi .
Paris , an essential place for African musicians of the 80s , welcomed Tshala Muana with open arms in 1983 . The 26-year-old young woman moved to Paris , then a hub of French-speaking African music . In its eulogy Radio France internationale under the pen of Bertand Lavaine a rms that many musicians from the former French colonies abounded in African music circles in Paris . To continue to modernize her Mutuashi , supported by her fellow guitarist Souzy Kasseya who understood her artistic approach , she therefore collaborated with the most prominent Afro-Parisian instrumentalists such as the Cameroonian Aladji Touré or the Cape Verdean Manu Lima ( one of the fathers of the ' afro-zouk ). Jacob Desvarieux , who also gravitates in this environment , falls for her : Mwen Malad Aw , who appears on an album by Kassav ', was intended to attract the attention of Tshala Muana , in vain , he said during the thirty years career of the singer in 2008 . For more than fifteen years , the records of " the dancer with the reed loins " are released at high frequency . In 1995 , she was in New York with Cubans and Puerto Ricans , under the direction of the Malian Boncana Maiga ( ex-Maravillas de Mali ); the following year , she o ered herself a Duo for eternity with Papa Wemba , on the initiative of the Congolese Bibi Den ' s with whom she had recorded during their years together in Abidjan . Tours are also increasing , particularly on the African continent : from Burkina Faso , with which she has had close ties since the invitation of Thomas Sankara in 1986 , to Togo , from Senegal to Angola , via Malawi where she is victim of a serious road accident in 1996 . If her role in the propagation of the Luba culture earned her honor by the customary chiefs of Kasai in 1991 , the one who was nicknamed the Queen of Mutuashi engages in a more political direction in order to support Laurent-Désiré Kabila when he came to power in 1997 . She returned to live in the Democratic Republic of Congo , became a member of the constituent assembly , then chaired the Women ' s League of Joseph Kabila ' s party , who succeeded his father as head of the country in 2001 . The fortyyear-old did not hesitate to campaign using music for her protege during the following elections , turning against her part of the opposition .
32 Flashmag ! Issue 136 December 2022